Power Automate via FlowStudio MCP

This skill lets AI agents read, monitor, and operate Microsoft Power Automate
cloud flows programmatically through a FlowStudio MCP server — no browser,
no UI, no manual steps.

Requires: A FlowStudio MCP subscription (or
compatible Power Automate MCP server). You will need:

• - MCP endpoint: https://mcp.flowstudio.app/mcp (same for all subscribers)
• API key / JWT token (x-api-key header — NOT Bearer)
• Power Platform environment name (e.g. Default-<tenant-guid>)

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Source of Truth

Priority	Source	Covers
1	Real API response	Always trust what the server actually returns
2

tools/list | Tool names, parameter names, types, required flags | | 3 | SKILL docs & reference files | Response shapes, behavioral notes, workflow recipes |

Start every new session with tools/list.
It returns the authoritative, up-to-date schema for every tool — parameter names,
types, and required flags. The SKILL docs cover what tools/list cannot tell you:
response shapes, non-obvious behaviors, and end-to-end workflow patterns.
If any documentation disagrees with tools/list or a real API response,
the API wins.

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Recommended Language: Python or Node.js

All examples in this skill and the companion build / debug skills use Python
with urllib.request (stdlib — no pip install needed). Node.js is an
equally valid choice: fetch is built-in from Node 18+, JSON handling is
native, and the async/await model maps cleanly onto the request-response pattern
of MCP tool calls — making it a natural fit for teams already working in a
JavaScript/TypeScript stack.

Language	Verdict	Notes
Python	✅ Recommended	Clean JSON handling, no escaping issues, all skill examples use it
Node.js (≥ 18)

✅ Recommended | Native fetch + JSON.stringify/JSON.parse; async/await fits MCP call patterns well; no extra packages needed |
| PowerShell | ⚠️ Avoid for flow operations | ConvertTo-Json -Depth silently truncates nested definitions; quoting and escaping break complex payloads. Acceptable for a quick tools/list discovery call but not for building or updating flows. |
| cURL / Bash | ⚠️ Possible but fragile | Shell-escaping nested JSON is error-prone; no native JSON parser |

TL;DR — use the Core MCP Helper (Python or Node.js) below. Both handle
JSON-RPC framing, auth, and response parsing in a single reusable function.

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What You Can Do

FlowStudio MCP has two access tiers. FlowStudio for Teams subscribers get
both the fast Azure-table store (cached snapshot data + governance metadata) and
full live Power Automate API access. MCP-only subscribers get the live tools —
more than enough to build, debug, and operate flows.

Live Tools — Available to All MCP Subscribers

Tool	What it does
INLINECODE15	List flows in an environment directly from the PA API (always current)
INLINECODE16

List all Power Platform environments visible to the service account | | list_live_connections | List all connections in an environment from the PA API | | get_live_flow | Fetch the complete flow definition (triggers, actions, parameters) | | get_live_flow_http_schema | Inspect the JSON body schema and response schemas of an HTTP-triggered flow | | get_live_flow_trigger_url | Get the current signed callback URL for an HTTP-triggered flow | | trigger_live_flow | POST to an HTTP-triggered flow's callback URL (AAD auth handled automatically) | | update_live_flow | Create a new flow or patch an existing definition in one call | | add_live_flow_to_solution | Migrate a non-solution flow into a solution | | get_live_flow_runs | List recent run history with status, start/end times, and errors | | get_live_flow_run_error | Get structured error details (per-action) for a failed run | | get_live_flow_run_action_outputs | Inspect inputs/outputs of any action (or every foreach iteration) in a run | | resubmit_live_flow_run | Re-run a failed or cancelled run using its original trigger payload | | cancel_live_flow_run | Cancel a currently running flow execution |

Store Tools — FlowStudio for Teams Subscribers Only

These tools read from (and write to) the FlowStudio Azure table — a monitored
snapshot of your tenant's flows enriched with governance metadata and run statistics.

Tool	What it does
INLINECODE29	Search flows from the cache with governance flags, run failure rates, and owner metadata
INLINECODE30

Get full cached details for a single flow including run stats and governance fields |
| get_store_flow_trigger_url | Get the trigger URL from the cache (instant, no PA API call) |
| get_store_flow_runs | Cached run history for the last N days with duration and remediation hints |
| get_store_flow_errors | Cached failed-only runs with failed action names and remediation hints |
| get_store_flow_summary | Aggregated stats: success rate, failure count, avg/max duration |
| set_store_flow_state | Start or stop a flow via the PA API and sync the result back to the store |
| update_store_flow | Update governance metadata (description, tags, monitor flag, notification rules, business impact) |
| list_store_environments | List all environments from the cache |
| list_store_makers | List all makers (citizen developers) from the cache |
| get_store_maker | Get a maker's flow/app counts and account status |
| list_store_power_apps | List all Power Apps canvas apps from the cache |
| list_store_connections | List all Power Platform connections from the cache |

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Which Tool Tier to Call First

Task	Tool	Notes
List flows	INLINECODE42	Always current — calls PA API directly
Read a definition

get_live_flow | Always fetched live — not cached |
| Debug a failure | get_live_flow_runs → get_live_flow_run_error | Use live run data |

⚠️ list_live_flows returns a wrapper object with a flows array — access via result["flows"].

Store tools (list_store_flows, get_store_flow, etc.) are available to FlowStudio for Teams subscribers and provide cached governance metadata. Use live tools when in doubt — they work for all subscription tiers.

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Step 0 — Discover Available Tools

Always start by calling tools/list to confirm the server is reachable and see
exactly which tool names are available (names may vary by server version):

CODEBLOCK0

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Core MCP Helper (Python)

Use this helper throughout all subsequent operations:

CODEBLOCK1

Common auth errors:

• - HTTP 401/403 → token is missing, expired, or malformed. Get a fresh JWT from mcp.flowstudio.app.
• HTTP 400 → malformed JSON-RPC payload. Check Content-Type: application/json and body structure.
• INLINECODE53 → wrong or missing tool arguments.

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Core MCP Helper (Node.js)

Equivalent helper for Node.js 18+ (built-in fetch — no packages required):

CODEBLOCK2

Requires Node.js 18+. For older Node, replace fetch with https.request
from the stdlib or install node-fetch.

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List Flows

CODEBLOCK3

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Read a Flow Definition

CODEBLOCK4

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Check Run History

CODEBLOCK5

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Inspect an Action's Output

CODEBLOCK6

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Get a Run's Error

CODEBLOCK7

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Resubmit a Run

CODEBLOCK8

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Cancel a Running Run

CODEBLOCK9

⚠️ Do NOT cancel a run that shows Running because it is waiting for an
adaptive card response. That status is normal — the flow is paused waiting
for a human to respond in Teams. Cancelling it will discard the pending card.

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Full Round-Trip Example — Debug and Fix a Failing Flow

CODEBLOCK10

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Auth & Connection Notes

Field	Value
Auth header	INLINECODE59 — not INLINECODE60
Token format

Plain JWT — do not strip, alter, or prefix it |
| Timeout | Use ≥ 120 s for get_live_flow_run_action_outputs (large outputs) |
| Environment name | Default-<tenant-guid> (find it via list_live_environments or list_live_flows response) |

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Reference Files

• - MCP-BOOTSTRAP.md — endpoint, auth, request/response format (read this first)
• tool-reference.md — response shapes and behavioral notes (parameters are in tools/list)
• action-types.md — Power Automate action type patterns
• connection-references.md — connector reference guide

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More Capabilities

For diagnosing failing flows end-to-end → load the power-automate-debug skill.

For building and deploying new flows → load the power-automate-build skill.